Martin John Spalding

Martin John Spalding (23 May 1810-7 February 1872) was Archbishop of Louisville from 1850 to 1864, succeeding Benedict Joseph Flaget and preceding Peter Joseph Lavialle, and Archbishop of Baltimore from 1864 to 1872, succeeding Francis Patrick Kenrick and preceding James Roosevelt Bayley.

Biography
Martin John Spalding was born in Rolling Fork, Kentucky on 23 May 1810, and he graduated from St. Mary's College in Lebanon, Kentucky in 1826. He entered the priesthood in 1834 after studying in Rome, and he celebrated his first mass over the tomb of Saint Peter at St. Peter's Basilica. In October, he returned to the United States via New York City, and he became President of St. Joseph's College in 1838. From 1850 to 1864, he served as Archbishop of Louisville in his home state of Kentucky, and he succeeded his former teacher Francis Patrick Kenrick as Archbishop of Baltimore in 1864. He was an outspoken advocate for Catholic schools, claiming that public schools were godless. During the American Civil War, he harbored Confederate sympathies, but he had his parishioners pray for peace and use his college as a hospital for wounded soldiers. From 1864 to 1872, he served as Archbishop of Baltimore, and he died in 1872.